Lewis a



(ModeL) L. A. BROWN & V. S. KETGHUM.

GAR SEAL.

Patented Feby28, 188-8.

lUNlTED STATES l arnnir Orrrcn.

LEWVIS A. BROWN AND VOLNEY S. KETOHUM, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO JACOB B. ULRICH, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,655, dated February 28, 1888.

Application filed November 22, 1887. Serial No. 255,946.

T0 61/ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LEWIS A. BROWN and VoLNEY S. KETOHUM, ofSt. Louis, Missouri, have jointly made a new and'useful Improve ment in Car-Seals, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This improvement, while useful in analogous constructions, is especially adapted to the link used to connect the hook and staple described in Letters Patent of the United States numbered 369,185, and granted to us August 30, 1887, for an improvementin fasteners for doors, cases, 850.

In the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the fastener referred to and containing the seal in question; Fig. 2, a rear elevation of the link. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the link, the view being upon an enlarged scale and upon the line 3 a of Fig. 1, and the seal being partially introduced into its place in the link, but not swaged or set finally thereinto; Fig. 4, a section similar to that of Fig. 3, but showing the seal in place; Fig. 5, a cross-section of the link, the view being upon the line 5 6 of Fig. 2, and the seal being in position to be set into place; and Fig. 6, a section similar to that of Fig. 5, but showing the seal completed.

The same letters of reference denote the same parts.

A, Fig. 1, represents the hook, B the staple, and Othe link, of the fastener. The parts are showned interlocked, and to unlock them the link is turned into a horizontal position to present its slot 0 parallel with and opposite to the hook-point a, as more fully described in the above-named Letters Patent. The link can then be detached from the hook but for the seal D, Figs. 1, 2, l, 6.

The seal is of any material suitable for a carseal and capable of being cast, run into, molded, swaged, or inserted in or across the link-slot 0, so as to prevent the passage of the hookpoint a. Lead, wax, and many cements will answer the purpose. To anchor the seal in the link, so that it cannot in practice he removed from the link without being so disfigured or altered in appearance or shape as to be readily noticed, it is important that the link be so (Model) made that the seal shall not he merely pressed into the link-slot, but that it shall enter a special seat formed for it in the link, and of such a shape as (to some limited extent atleast) to overhang a portion of the seal, and thus interpose a shoulder or equivalent obstacle to the direct removal of the seal from its seat.

To this end the improvementis carried out, preferably, in the following manner: In the front portion of the link a depression, E, is formed. The depression is preferably circular in outline, and it extends across the position of the slot 0. The surrounding edge 6, Figs. 3, 4, 5,6, is made to overhang, as shown. The metal of the link at the central portion, 6, of the depression may be raised, but not so high as the edge e, and its edge e may also overhang, as shown. The opposite side of the link, at the side or sides of the slot 0, may also be shaped out as shown at (2, Figs. 5, G.

The improvement is carried out more fully by perforating the link at ff, Figs. 5, 6, to receive the staple F.

The material composing the seal is, by means of any suitable and needed appliances, introduced into the link substantially as indicated in Figs. 3, 5, and then, by means of a suitable compressing-tool-such as a punch-fitted for the work in hand, the seal material is swaged into the seat in the link, as shown in Figs. 4, 6, in which position the edges 6 e overhang the seal, and a portion, (Z, Fig. 5, forms a head upon the rear side of the link, and if the staple F is used its portionf is covered by the main portion (1 of the seal and its ends f f are clinched against the head d. The seal is now thoroughly secured in the link, so that it can be neither dislodged by working from the back of the link nor withdrawn by working from the front of the link without so altering the seal as to make the attempt easily manifest.

WVe desire not to be restricted to the special form of slotted link and hook shown, as we believe it to be novel, generally, to apply a seal across a slotted link-extension to bar the passage of ahook-point of any shape.

o claim 1. The combination of the hook, the slotted link, and a seal crossing said link-slot, substantially as and for the purpose described.

siasss 2. The combination of the slotted link hav- 1 ing the depression in its front and crossing the 10 ing the depression in its front and crossing link-slot, the staple, and the seal, said. depresthe link-slot, and having a central raised porsion having a surrounding overhanging edge, tion provided with an overhanging edge, with substantially as described. 5 the seal, substantially as described. LEWIS A. BROWN.

3. The combination of the slotted link, per- VOLNEY S. KETCHUM. forated as described, the staple, and the seal, WVitnesses: substantially as described. 0. D. MOODY,

4. The combination of the slotted link hav- J AS. W. ALLEN. 

